Mourinho has repeatedly refused to predict when Pogba might be fit again.

The former Juventus midfielder returned to United's Carrington training headquarters just over a week ago after spending time rehabilitating in Miami.

United are five points below Premier League leaders Manchester City ahead of their trip to champions Chelsea on Sunday.

Mourinho's preparations for the match against his former club were disrupted by the fact he had to travel to Madrid on Friday to settle a tax case with the Spanish authorities.

United's trips to Stamford Bridge have become fraught affairs since Mourinho joined United in May 2016, but he says he is still popular with Chelsea's supporters.

The United manager is one of the most significant figures in Chelsea history, having ended the west London club's 50-year wait for a league title in 2005 at the end of his first season as their manager.

He won the Premier League again with them the following season before leaving in 2007 and then, after returning in 2013, secured the title for a third time two years later.

However, his two visits with United last season attracted controversy.

He had a touchline confrontation with Chelsea manager Antonio Conte after a 4-0 league defeat last October and United's 1-0 loss to Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter-finals in March was a bad-tempered affair.

Mourinho regularly bumps into Chelsea supporters as he still has his family home in Knightsbridge, a couple of miles from their ground, and says he is still warmly welcomed by them.